My company provides me with a pension plan, but it is not one in which I may make contributions. We also have no 401K plans or the like, I'm single and my AGI is over $40K Does this make me a participant (in a qualified retirement plan) and therefore unable to invest in a traditional deductable IRA?

I reply:

It sounds like you have a defined benefit plan (as opposed to a defined contribution plan). If so, then you cannot deduct an IRA contribution, and your options are a non-deductible traditional IRA and a Roth IRA (assuming that you don't make more than the $95,000-$110,000 single, $150,000-$160,000 married, phase-out range for a Roth). Obviously, if these are your choices, the Roth IRA is the way to go. --Bob

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